Laura and I made a Target run today to pick up a few things. Dan and I have wanted to get Ben a slide for awhile now. I didn’t really feel like spending $50 on one, and anytime I email about one on craigslist the person never gets back to me. I guess slides are a hot commodity! Anyway, we saw the one I wanted for $30 at Target today! Wow, so cheap! Laura and I checked the #’s and it was the right item, so I put it in my cart, very excited. When we went to pay, it (of course) rang up at $50. Bummer. The manager said the price was right….boo. After we paid, my super detective sister ran back to the toy aisle and did a double check and took a picture of the price & #…we brought it back to the manager and he gave me the slide for $29.99! SCORE! They totally mis-marked the slide, but that is not my fault!

I put the slide together (Ok, basically just opened the box) and Ben was very excited. He just kept walking up the stairs, standing at the top and yelling, like he was King of the Mountain. No clue how to actually get down the slide (meanwhile, he goes down slides all the time…not sure what was throwing him off). This went on for about a half hour, until I tried to show him how to go down himself. Finally he got the hang of it and has become a sliding maniac. He LOVES it. Let’s hope he doesn’t get bored of the slide in a week.

King of the world! / Landing on Lucy / Singing at the top o' the mountain / A little help from my blankie

The funny part was the biggest lure for him to get down the slide on his own, was when I put his blankie at the bottom. He was on a mission to get it! It was cute. Those Aden & Anais blankies are basically crack for Ben.

Making sure I put the slide together correctly (Pretty sure Ben thinks I am out to get him)

The weather has been gorgeous in NJ lately. I am loving it, and so is Ben. Nicer weather means more time outside, which means a more tired child.

Me & Ben at the harbor on a gorgeous Boston evening

Here is a quick peek at Ben from Boston. He is very into “mooing” right now. And it even sounds like a MOO! (Unlike his previous moo, which was more like a “baaaa”) So proud of my little man! He is even starting to say “ba ba” for bottle.

Poor Ben. This post has almost nothing to do with him! It is more of a “What Dan Found Thrifting and Wore” post. We went back to the thrift stores my sister and I found in Westfield. This time, Dan really made out. He found tons of gorgeous dress shirts – PINK, Barney’s, BCBG, Express. Unfortunately, most of them were too big. But we will definitely be back and see what pops up over there. Finding designer dress shirts for $3? Yes, please.

Dan ended up going home with 2 shirts – a Polo golf shirt for $4.50 and a Thomas Pink dress shirt for $3. That Pink shirt probably cost around $150. It even had a dry cleaning tag on it. I am hoping whoever donated this shirt is a regular and we can snag his entire work wardrobe!

Another steal was this CAT dump truck for Ben off craigslist for $8. Amazing deal. Yes, that is my slipper going for a ride around the apartment. Thanks, Ben!

Last night we had the pleasure of attending a HUNGER GAMES PREMIERE in NYC! We were at a Scholastic employee screening in Union Square at the Regal Cinemas (and even saw the movie in IMAX!) If you haven’t read the books, you are really missing out. They are probably some of the best books I have ever read…and I read A LOT. It’s also opened me up to the young adult book category which I have been loving! Even Sci-Fi. I never knew I had it in me.

Team Peeta

The movie really did the book justice. I was impressed. There were of course a few discrepancies and differences. She got her famous Mockinjay pin in a totally different manner than the book. It was much less gory. It didn’t delve much into relationships such as Gale/Katniss or Rue/Katniss. And I think the movie made you think Katniss was falling in love with Peeta instead of really faking it for the camera. But it was still great. I LOVED Peeta’s character, the casting was superb. Everyone was pretty much exactly as I imagined they would look while reading the book.

Katniss was so kick-ass, I loved her. But they also did a really good job of showing how scared she was to be put into the games. The scene with her and Cinna right before was intense and emotional. Cannot wait to see more of Cinna in Catching Fire.

Right before the movie started the director of Hunger Games, Gary Ross, came out for a little Q&A session. What a surprise! It was great to hear him speak and hear him chatting about him & Suzanne Collins casting Peeta, who his favorite character was, etc. Very cool. It was a perfect evening. I laughed, I cried. Good times!

If you are into this type of book, here are a few other books I have read lately that could definitely be in the “Hunger Games category” (especially for a Super Fan like me!)

And in Adult books, I just recently finished a few good reads the past few months:

I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (funny and adorable, as usual)

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (fun girly read)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosney (read it in 1 day)

ROOM by Emma Donoghue (depressing, disturbing, amazing)

Wow, this blog post took a weird turn. I obviously need to join a book club because I have a lot of book info pent up inside me.

Heading to Boston with the family this weekend. Very excited. I will post pictures of Ben’s outfits, of course. Here is Ben at the park on this gorgeous day today. Not exactly an outfit for the books. Last year’s beach hat, Rutgers shirt, Gap jeans, and new play shoes from Target. But at least Ben wears it well!

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Spring is here. It’s REALLY HERE! Not only is it officially the first day of Spring, but it actually seems like Spring too! Last week I spent most days outside. Either walking to Maplewood or taking Ben to the park. It’s just been wonderful. I wake up happier, my days are happier, everyone is happier.

Ben got a pair of new kicks last week. They are SO CUTE. H&M really has the best stuff for kids.

This past weekend we went to LBI for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. It was great! So happy to be back. We all went to our favorite happy hour to celebrate Mom & Dad’s 35th anniversary. THIRTY FIVE YEARS! So impressive. Here are pictures of Ben in his new hoodie from H&M looking adorable.

This weekend we head to Boston, then to Baltimore a few weekends later, then Amsterdam/Paris. I am thinking I should not unpack my suitcase this entire month! Ben’s passport came in the mail today…I guess it means we’re really going!!

I really thought that Hello would be a little more different in Dutch, but it’s pretty much the same. Since we have our European trip booked to see our friends currently living abroad, I think these pictures of Ben in his Dutch clogs are very appropriate! He is obsessed with these and makes us put them on him (even though they are basically too small now). I guess we’ll be able to get him another pair soon!

Goedemorgen!

I guess I should brush up on a few French words also, for our 2 days in Paris! (insert excited squeal and a million exclamation marks)

My mom picked up this adorable outfit from Janie & Jack for Ben yesterday…perfect for strolling beneath the Eiffel Tower, don’t you think?

Janie & Jack polo and shorts

We will be renting bikes to get around the beautiful city of Amsterdam, which will be wonderful! I hate rental cars or driving around strange areas anyway, so this seems like the best of both worlds to me! In Paris, we will be walking most of the time, maybe hopping on the metro when we see if it is stroller-friendly or not (how less stroller-friendly can it be than the NYC subway, and we have no problems there!)

A Dream Come True. Un rêve devenu réalité.

This trip really is a dream come true. Seeing Europe again, but this time with Ben. I cannot wait to experience everything with him!

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I did some thrifting recently with my sister and we totally scored (no more pink pyrex, but I have faith in future thrifting). It was the highlight of my week. Saving money definitely makes us happy! My sister picked up a ridiculously gorgeous set of wine glasses for $10. Check them out here.

We decided to venture out to Westfield, NJ. Laura had never even been and it’s just a short 15-20 minute drive from us! And the town is really cute and has everything you need for a fun shopping day. At the first thrift shop I picked up a tunnel for Ben for $3, a fun yellow spoon for 10 cents, and a mushroom plaque for $1. Exciting stuff.

The second thrift shop had more clothes…and surprisingly NICE clothes! I tried on a fun top from Urban (way too small), and didn’t have time to look around for much more because Ben had a meltdown and our parking meter was expiring in 5 minutes. But I did grab a pretty sweet shirt for $1 by Graham & Spencer. I had never heard of this brand before, but thought it might be pretty high-end. Now I know why I never heard of it…they only sell their clothing at Neiman Marcus and Barney’s. Not my typical trip to the mall. After doing a little research, I’m pretty positive this shirt retails for $100+, making me very very very happy. I hope to get back to this particular shop and really scour the racks for some more great deals!

Please excuse the way I look. I just got back from the zoo (again!) and it was 70 degrees and I am dirty from chasing Ben around in the dirt and sand. But what a perfect day!

I also grabbed this adorable polo shirt at Milk Money, our local kiddie consignment shop. It’s adorable and perfect for spring/summer! Cute little boys clothes are definitely harder to come by in the thrifting/consignment circuit.

Polo shirt - $6

On another note, we just booked our family trip to AMSTERDAM and PARIS! We leave at the end of April, just in time to be there to celebrate my 32nd birthday with the Zbranaks! We will also be there for Queen’s Day. So very excited. So much planning to do!

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This weekend we went to the Liberty Science Center. What a blast from the past! I have not been there since on a field trip myself many many moons ago. I can thank Bank of America’s Museums on Us program which allowed us to go there for FREE! I love free things. I guess technically we had to pay for parking, but we still saved a whopping $15.75 per person. Learning is expensive these days!

We could not believe how much fun Ben was having. Running from exhibit to exhibit for TWO hours, straight through nap time. We will be attempting to go once a month on these “free” days.

Most importantly, Ben is wearing an adorable H&M hoodie, Gap jeans, and TOMS.

Blocks / Playing Doctor / Resting / Tide Pool fun

Sunday just kept getting better. After getting home from the museum (Ben napped a total of 30 minutes in the car), we walked to the park in Maplewood and met up with Laura & Jeff which was fun. Ben ran around for another hour (you would think this kid would have been tired at night, right? Not even close). We get home, order a pizza and relax. See Ben eat pizza. He’s so smart. Of course you take all the cheese off the top and shove it in your mouth! Duh!

Take a bite / Shove top layer of cheese into mouth

You think our evening ended here? No way! It only got better! Dan gave Ben a bath. Ben’s happy time. He comes running out of the bathroom to greet me (naked) as he does every other night and then takes a squat on the floor. Then makes a HUGE #2. We both didn’t know what to do. So I try to pick him up, which results in him stepping in it! While we are then cleaning him off in the sink, Lucy (our crazy jack russell) goes and EATS the mess. Then she slinks off guiltily (and probably not feeling so good) into her cage for the remainder of the evening. And that, finally, was the end to our Sunday.

Been having a great rest of the week. Got Ben to eat a few more things, I’ll post them separately or maybe on the food blog. Got a few cool thrifted items since the last post, bought Ben a tiny table and chair set, grabbed a deal of a dump truck for Ben on craigslist, read a few awesome books at warp speed, got to see my sister and Mom a few times, starting to plan our family trip to Europe….LOTS going on in the Moser household right now.

Coloring with Aunt Laura (table & chair set from Ikea)

But the most exciting thing…it is going to be 72 degrees tomorrow! I’m heading back to the Turtleback Zoo with a friend and her daughter tomorrow. Very excited! SPRING IS HERE! Or at least, it’s coming.

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Maybe I should create a new brand, Zoo Jersey? How has this not been done before? Genius.

Anyways, Ben and I ventured out to the Turtleback Zoo on Monday thanks to a random 57 degree day in February! Of course, I didn’t really think it through as I left the house at 10am and it was still 45 degrees. But it was still a really nice day. Ben and I were one of about 3 families at the zoo. Ben chased peacocks, played in the sand, and checked out the animals leisurely in his stroller.

I also caught 2 meerkats in a compromising position and wished I had someone there to giggle like schoolchildren with. It reminded me of an old State skit (watch with caution). I follow all those guys on twitter and they are still hilarious. Another show that should not have been cancelled (the first, of course, being Arrested Development!) Ok, that took a random turn.Ben was wearing a new Gap t-shirt, Old Navy onesie, Gap jeans and jacket, and Stride Rite shoes.

Yesterday it rained all day but I was lucky enough to have my sister come over for a few hours and hang with me and Ben. Then I actually made a dinner! A healthy one! We had Spicy Kale and Chickpea stew over rice pilaf…using that lovely slow cooker once again! I am trying to incorporate a few more vegan meals into our weekly routine.

AND I also made mashed potatoes in the hopes Ben will actually eat something. This hunger strike of his is getting old. Poor guy’s head is getting bigger and his body is getting smaller (and taller)! He is looking like Angelina Jolie.